On Dec. 16, 2012, the Ravens lined up Michael Oher, Jah Reid, Matt Birk, Bobbie Williams and Kelechi Osemele along their offensive line when they faced the Broncos in Baltimore and lost 34-17.

Less than a month later, in the playoffs against the Broncos, Baltimore’s line had Bryant McKinnie and Marshal Yanda replacing Williams and Reid. The Ravens upset the Broncos and three weeks later, that same line was on the field as celebrations of their Super Bowl title began at the Superdome.

Take note, Broncos defense. It might not be too late to change.

Sure, one group is a hulking bunch of monsters charged with protecting quarterbacks, the other a hodgepodge of bulk and speed charged with stopping the other team, but on a more basic level, this is about change, not personnel. It’s Week 15.

The playoffs are less than a month away, and the Broncos’ defense is virtually unrecognizable from the group that took the field in Week 1 — and that was without Champ Bailey.

Let’s forget for a moment about injuries and illnesses, although the list is long, with Bailey, Derek Wolfe, Kevin Vickerson and Rahim Moore being the biggest losses. Instead, let’s look at change for the sake of change, or for the sake of improvement, which these Broncos embraced wholeheartedly against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, when the coaches benched linebacker Wesley Woodyard and safety Duke Ihenacho, both season-long starters, for Paris Lenon and Omar Bolden, respectively.

“Some of this is giving guys opportunities to see what they can do,” coach John Fox said. “We try to get better every day and every week as we move closer to the end of the season. Our agenda is to get better every day.”

Read between the lines. As much as Fox is talking about guys such as Lenon and Bolden earning time, he’s also talking about the need for the team to get better and players don’t earn playing time at the expense of others who are playing well. Ihenacho, a second-year player, is young and has faltered of late, so slotting Bolden, another young player, in his place wasn’t exactly baffling. Woodyard’s removal, though, has raised a few eyebrows.

The veteran linebacker, who’s been a captain for his entire Broncos career and was regarded as the leader of the defense, was on the field for only 10 plays Sunday. He’s been hindered by a neck injury he suffered in October in Dallas, and through 13 games, he’s graded out as the 99th-best inside linebacker on Pro Football Focus. In 2012, the site ranked him as the 15th-best outside linebacker among those who played in 4-3 defenses.

Even for a respected veteran, that in and of itself seems like a drop-off worthy of concern.

Woodyard did not make himself available to speak to the media Tuesday. On Monday, he told 102.3 ESPN that he’s been told he’s been benched to save his energy for the playoffs, and that he doesn’t like it.

A team that’s still fighting for a division title and home-field advantage in the playoffs doesn’t usually rest a player if he can have an impact.

So raise an eyebrow, complain about the replacements, but for now, this shakeup might not be a fleeting thing. The fact that the Broncos have backups they think are worthy of playing time speaks to the team’s depth, but defense is the team’s biggest liability.

Lucky for them the offense is scoring so many points that coaches can experiment on defense, although that doesn’t make it any easier for the players.

“It definitely is hard,” cornerback Chris Harris said of the defensive changes. “You have to build that chemistry up, and people are not realizing all the young players (we have) on the defense. We have an extremely young defense, and just to have guys fill in is kind of tough.”

For now, the Broncos’ defense is playing a game of catch-up — both with new players and opposing offenses. This team isn’t going to ride its defense to a Super Bowl, but right now, it needs to find a group that won’t trip it up on the way there.

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